Slow to trust, Quick to die
by wickie4
Summary: Cosima grew up arround the Assassins. She has trained and risen in the ranks until she is the top Assassin apprentice. Then Ezio Auditore de Firenze arrives at Monteriggioni, everything changes and Cosima must learn to trust him.
1. Chapter 1

***I do not own Assassins Creed***

**Hi! This is my first Assassin's Creed fanfic, and I am a noobasurus rex at Assassin's Creed, so please be nice! I haven't played the games because I don't have the money to get them, but I've watched walkthroughts and read summaries so I pretty much understand the story, but if you don't like if it doesn't follow, no one is forcing you to read this.**

It was a hot day, with waves of het rising from the ground. I squinted, watching for any sign of danger. Nothing moved, as usual. Sentry duty was the most boring part of training to be an Assassin. Sure, it trained us to be patient, but that didn't help much when you had been standing in the same place for hours, staring at the same specks of dust and trees that never moved. "All clear… as usual," I muttered to myself.

That's when the normal routine was broken. Two large blobs came over the hill, coming from the direction Firenze was. As they approached Monteriggioni, more details about them became clear. One of the blobs was 2 women riding a dark horse. The other was a light horse bearing a boy about my age in Assassin's clothes. They seemed harmless enough, but I knew not to take people at face value. I glanced around, looking around for more people hiding in the bushes beside the road. The bushes rustled slightly, although there was no wind. Suddenly, armed men rushed out of the bushes and surrounded the people on the horses. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but it was obvious that the people on the horses were being threatened.

"Cosima!" I jumped when I heard someone calling me. My friend, Matteo, another Assassin apprentice, ran up behind me and said, "Mario wants you to shoot some of those guys on his signal, and then meet u down there for the hand-to-hand stuff."

"Got it!" I said. As I reached for my bow, Matteo stepped onto a ledge, mock saluted me, and landed in a bale of hay far below. I smiled, shaking my head. Matteo always was one for dramatic exits. I casually selected an arrow from my quiver and knocked it on my bow string, waiting for Mario's command.

Moments later, the boy in white was pulled from his horse and started fighting. Mario stepped out from behind a tree and held up a clenched fist, the signal to attack. Assassins jumped out of the bushes and attacked the attackers. Two seconds later, one of the attackers fell dead with my arrow in his throat. Within thirty seconds, eleven more men lay unmoving with an arrow in either throat or heart.

Dropping my bow, I ran to the ledge and jumped. Almost before I had landed in the hay bale I was vaulting out and sprinting to the fight. Only a few attackers remained once I actually reached them. Flicking my wrist, I stabbed one of the last men in the back with my hidden blade. The men let out a short cry then collapsed. I looked around, searching for my next opponent but saw that all of the attackers were either dead or fleeing.

"Cosima!" I whirled around when Mario called my name. He beckoned me, so I jogged over to where he was standing with the two women and boy. "Cosima, have rooms prepared for our guests," he gestured to the strangers, "clean up this mess, and tend to the wounded warriors." He pointed at Soren and Rachele, two other Assassins who had been hurt in the fight.

"It will be done," I said and walked away, glancing at the boy in white curiously as I passed him. I whistled loudly to get the other Assassins' attention, then called, "Assassins, gather!"

Mateo was the first one over, grinning like an idiot. "So, Mario put you in charge. I wonder how long it will be before we're all running for the hills..." He stroked his chin thoughtfully before grinning at me.

"One day that sense of humor will get you in trouble," I warned, keeping a serious face for only a second before a grin broke through. By then all the assassins had gathered and I started assigning jobs. "Nernia and Nazario, ready rooms for Mario's friends." I gestured to where Mario was speaking with the strangers. "Genoah, Luigi, Marcello, Nathalie, and Alcina. Dispose of the bodies, but save as many weapons as you can. Anthony and Isabella, make sure there aren't more of these men hiding in the hills. Matteo, help he get Soren and Rachele to the doctor." They all nodded and ran off to do their jobs.

"So, who's the boy with our clothes? I've never seen him before." Matteo asked as we walked over to Soren and Rachele.

"I don't know, but Mario obviously knows them well. But, enough talking, we have heroes to care for." I grinned at Rachele and she smiled back thinly. "Can you walk?" I asked.

She nodded. "Well enough. But Soren is unconscious." I knelt next to Soren, checking his vitals. He was breathing, but he had taken a hard blow to the head.

"Matteo, help me with Soren," I said, putting one of the unconscious man's arms around my shoulders. He picked up his other shoulder and we carried him to villa. Rachele walked next to us and I kept a careful eye on her.

Soon we were walking into the Villa and delivered Soren and Rachele safely to the doctor. After checking in on the rooms Neria and Nazario had prepared, I retired to my room. I collapsed on my bed, not bothering to take my armor off. Before I was even settled, there was a knock on my door. "Come in!" I said, dragging myself to my feet. Lia, one of the youngest Assassin apprentices, peeked her head in and said, "Mario wants to talk to you in his study."

"Thank you, Lia," I smiled at her. She smiled back and closed the door. I picked up my sword from where I'd dropped it on the ground and slid it into my scabbard. Sighing, I walked outside and headed downstairs. I walked over to the heavy wooden doors that led to Mario's study and knocked, making sure I wouldn't be walking in on any important conversations.

"Come in, Cosima!" Mario called from inside.

I pushed the door open and slipped inside, trying to make as little noise out of habit. "You wanted to see me?" I asked cautiously.

"I'm sure you are all curious about the strangers we protected this afternoon. Long story short, they are my sister-in-law, niece, and nephew. My nephew does not know that his father was an Assassin and will now be training with you. I want you to be personally responsible for his training." Mario waited for my response, but there was only really one thing I could say.

"Yes, Mario. You can count on me."

"Good. Meet him in the dining hall tomorrow morning." Mario said.

The conversation was obviously over, so I gave him a littType text or a website address or translate a document.

le bow and walked out. The only thing I could think was 'God, help me'.


	2. Chapter 2

***I do not own assassins creed***

**I apologize for saying the word 'I' so many times, but I'm only a teenager so... Yah :) please post a review. Have fun reading! (and sorry its so short)**

Chapter 2

The next morning showed the signs of a perfect day with blue skies and the perfect weather for rooftop free running and horseback riding. But I was stuck with the new recruit.

Groaning at the thought of what that day might bring, I rolled out of my comfortable bed and put on my gear. I stepped in to the hall just as a bell rang, signaling the morning meal. Matteo appeared at the end of the hall and grinned.

"Race you there!" he took off, laughing.  
>"I'm going to get you!" I ran after him. I rounded the corner and saw him taking the stairs two at a time. I hopped onto the rail an jumped off, rolling to absorb the impact. Matteo reached the bottom of the stairs and dashed forward, grinning at the thought of victory. I scrambled to my feet and shoved him to the side, stepping into the dining hall a moment before him.<p>

"Told you! You'll never beat me!" I said, laughing and we headed to get some food. For the moment, all thoughts of Ezio Auditore were gone from my mind and I was simply having fun with a close friend.

Then Ezio walked in. Matteo and I were already seated with Rachele and a couple of the other Assassins. Ezio stood awkwardly by the door, looking for someone. In an instant I realized he was looking for me. Red faced, I stood up, quietly excusing myself for a moment and walked over to him.

"Hello, Ezio. I'm Cosima" I forced a smile, hoping he wouldn't turn out to be an 'I'm so important, everyone look at me and wish you were as amazing as me' kind of person.

He smiled back, a genuine smile. I instantly felt a bit guilty.

"Lets get you some food, then I can introduce you to some of the other Assassins." he flinched at the sound of the last word and I remembered what Mario had said the night before. He simply nodded and followed where I led him. From time to time I glanced over at him, curious about his apparent lack of anything to say, because normally the new people just couldn't shut up. I was also pleasantly surprised to see that he wasn't daydreaming and following blindly, he was taking in his surroundings, noticing things.

Once Ezio had gotten some food I led him over to the table I had been sitting at. "Ezio, this is Matteo, Rachele, Nernia, Genoah, and Anthony." as I introduced each person they said hello and Ezio nodded back at them silently.

When the introductions were finished we sat down. There was an awkward moment of silence before everyone noticed the lack of conversation and started talking at once. Finally the conversation settled on one topic: that night's free running exercise.

"free running exercise?" Ezio asked, confused.

Genoah answered, saying," Some nights we have an exercise to practice our free running skills. Tonight it's in the form of capture-the-flag. We get separated into two teams and the city is split into two sectors. Each team hides their flag somewhere in their sector. Then you are trying to get to the other teams flag before they get to yours. There's one catch, though. You aren't allowed to touch the ground. If you touch the ground, are 'killed by a guard' or are captured, you're out." Genoah breathed deeply, out of breath after his long, rambly description, and then grinned.

Ezio's eyes were wide with excitement and I grinned. Now it was time to prepare the newbie for the game.

"Ok, Ezio, Time to get down to actual training," I said, standing up. Other Assassins around the room were doing the same thing, heading out to  
>do whatever exercises were planned out for them. Ezio stood up quickly, obviously excited.<p>

I heard a few of the others snicker as Ezio followed me out. He had no idea what was in store for him.


	3. Chapter 3

***I do not own Assassin's Creed***

Chapter 3

Ezio followed me eagerly, all hesitation gone. I led him to an empty sparring arena where I could instruct Ezio in private.

There was a rack of weapons outside of the arena from which I grabbed two wooden staffs, tossing one to Ezio. He caught it easily and I nodded to myself. He had good reflexes. That would make my job easier.

I walked into the middle of the arena then called to Ezio, "Are you coming? We don't have all day!"

"Coming!" He called, his voice surprisingly deep, and I realized it was the first time I had heard him talk. He jogged over to where I was standing and waited expectantly.

"Take a fighting stance. Pretend your staff is a sword." I said, and then clucked my tongue at his technique. "That may work in ordinary street fights, when you're just using your fists, but this'll get you killed if you're using a sword. Here, you need to tuck your elbows in like this..." I reached over and pushed his elbows in.

After a few minutes of tweaking the position of his hands and legs and such, I stepped back and nodded. "Now you at least look like and Assassin." His eyes dropped to stare at the floor when I said 'Assassin'.

Reaching out, I put my hand under his chin and raised his head so that he was looking at me. "Look," I said firmly. "I understand that your dad kept it from you that he was an Assassin, but that is no reason to mope whenever you hear that word. Being an Assassin is an honor. We fight for freedom and justice. Throughout the years, we have been the only people standing between some people and their total domination of civilization as we know it. I need to know if I can trust you. Because if can't... if you are going to act like the word Assassin is what ruined your life, the door is over there." I pointed in the general direction of the door, and turned away. I started practicing with my staff, ignoring Ezio who was standing, stunned, behind me.

I heard him take a few deep breaths, then say, "I...I'm sorry, Cosima. Um... If you will train me, I will do my best to keep what you said in mind. You can trust me."

I smiled to myself and turned to Ezio. "Good. Remember that. And also remember how you controlled your anger and still apologized. That is important for and Assassin. And I'm glad to know I can trust you, because in this world, if you trust slowly, you die fast. Now, let's get to the hard stuff." I smiled.

Ezio nodded seriously, but I saw the ghost of a grin on the corners of his mouth. He took up the position. Had showed him, and after a quick inspection of his stance, I nodded. At least he could remember so something that simple.

"Ok, I'm going to show you different moves you can use with you sword, or staff, in this case." I whipped my staff at him in a dizzying sequence of moves, and Ezio's eyes widened.

"That may have seemed too fast for you, but soon, you'll be doing that without a second thought." I said, then showed the sequence if moved slower. Then Ezio tried the moves with me critiquing him. Once he had mastered those moves, I moved on to another sequence, then another. Two hours later, Ezio had learned about twenty moves in almost as many different combinations.

After Ezio had gotten most of the moves down well enough to spar with them, I called a breather and we both grabbed some water. "Ezio, I think you're ready for a sparring. Are you up for it?" I hid a grin.

Ezio nodded enthusiastically. "I'm up for it, if you are ready to be beat."

"That's funny, Ezio... Ready to be beat... I didn't know you could be that funny."

"Don't be cocky!" he said, imitating my voice. I had told him that countless times during the session.

"It's not being cocky if you're right." I smirked at him.

"Care to back that up?" he said, taking a sword fighting stance.

I laughed and walked to the middle of the arena. "Anytime, anywhere," I responded.

He walked out and grinned. "Then let's go..." he lunged at me, sword extended and I jumped to the side easily.

"Come on, give me a real challenge," I said, waiting for his next attack. Ezio sent a cut at my neck, leaving his side wide open. I ducked under his staff and whacked his side to teach him a lesson. "Attack, but always be ready to defend yourself," I instructed. He narrowed his eyes, trying to find a weakness in me. Good, now he was taking me seriously.

Suddenly, I whipped my staff out in a feint to his neck and when he reached out to parry, I switched the direction of my staff, aiming for his leg.

WHACK!

Ezio fell to his knees when I hit the back of his knee, collapsing the leg. He rolled to the side, barely avoiding my staff as it swung toward him. He stumbles to his feet, backing up into the wall.

I set my staff at his neck. "I believe that is a win for me." I said mildly.

Ezio smiled sheepishly. "I guess I still have some work to do..."

I nodded seriously. "Yes, you do. Your swings were slow, and you easily fell for an obvious feint. But you also did well. Not many people could have rolled in time to avoid my swing. You can see the next move before it happens. You just need to be able to tell a real strike from a fake one, and work on your speed. All in all, not bad."

Ezio nodded, just as seriously and I knew he had taken what I said to heart.

"Now, are you up to another round, or do you want to take a break?"

"Another round. I can take it if you can."

I smirked. "I can always take it."

A few minutes later, the round was over with near identical results, but it had taken a little longer that time.

We went on like that for another couple of hours, with Ezio getting steadily better and sometimes landing some hits on me. After a particularly heated round, we took a breather and got a drink of water. During that break, Matteo and Rachele walked in.

"So, how's the training going?" Matteo asked, grinning.

"How do you think? He's getting his butt kicked!" I smiled as Matteo frowned, rubbing his elbows, remembering when I had given him a similar treatment to what Ezio was getting. The poor guy had been covered in bruises by the end of the day.

"Make sure he comes back in one piece. I'm sure Mario wouldn't be happy if you killed his nephew on his first day." Rachele put in, glancing at Ezio's already bruised arms.

"I'm fine!" Ezio said, smiling devilishly. "In fact, I was just about to kick her butt in another sparring round."

I raised one eyebrow, but didn't say anything. The kid has guts.

Rachele's mouth formed an O and Matteo hid a snicker. They both knew that this wouldn't turn out well for Ezio.


	4. Chapter 4

***I do not own Assassin's Creed***

Chapter 4

"Ok, then." I shrugged and picked up my staff. Ezio grinned and grabbed his.

"Hold on, I'm sure the others will want to see this!" Matteo ran off to gather some other Assassins watch Ezio get beat.

A few minutes later, at least ten Assassins and quite a few mercenaries and thieves were gathered. Ezio and I stood in the middle of the arena, Ezio ginning as though he'd already won and me smirking.

Someone called go and Ezio leapt toward me, throwing a quick combination of moves and a hard swing toward my side. I parried the combination and stepped back as he swung the staff. I whacked the back of the staff as it swung by, sending Ezio out of control. He spun and staggered a few steps away before gaining control. A ripple of laughter went around the crowd and Ezio glared at me.

A voice I would know anywhere started calling moves to Ezio and I grimaced. Matteo was one of the only people who could beat me in single combat, and now he was calling moves to Ezio, an already good fighter. This was going to be interesting.

One advantage I did have was that I would hear what Matteo was calling when Ezio did. But that still didn't help much, because Ezio was fast and tended to react the moment he was told to do something.

"Feint left then right then back left again!" Matteo called, and Ezio was swinging the second left strike almost before Matteo was finished. I dove to the ground, rolling past Ezio and coming behind him, swinging at his side, willing Matteo to shut up. Of course, he didn't listen.

"Spin, duck, swing and roll back!" I tried to swing at Ezio's neck before he could duck but was a moment too late. I immediately jumped up as Ezio's staff sliced through the space my legs had been in a moment before. I leapt forward, landing a glancing blow on Ezio's left shoulder, but had to jump back before I could do any real damage.

We fight went on like that for several more minutes, me dodging Ezio's blows fairly easily, but unable to land any solid hits on him.

Finally, I'd had enough of it, and as I ducked a slice to my head, I snatched a throwing knife out of my boot. As I pulled my arm back, I calculated where Ezio's staff was going to be and threw the blade. It thumped solidly into Ezio's staff and he stared at the still vibrating blade in his staff. I used that opening immediately and threw a dizzying sequence of slices and blows at Ezio and he backed up, lost. Matteo couldn't call out actions fast enough for Ezio to respond and Ezio fell back under the hail of blows until he was backed up against the wall. I set my staff against his neck. He looked at me, a mixture of awe and fear in his eyes.

I took my staff away from Ezio's neck and said, "Good job. With practice, you could be able to do that without your unwanted crutch." I turned to glare in Matteo's direction, but he had wisely made himself scarce.

After a moment, Ezio grinned. "You're just lucky that he couldn't keep up at the end."

I sighed. "You just keep telling yourself that..." Gesturing at his staff I said, "Can I see that for a second?" he looked confused for a second, then looked down and saw my throwing knife embedded in his staff.

"Oh, sure. That was some great throwing." I nodded my thanks for the compliment and jerked my knife out.

"Thanks. I've been training since I was five," I said as I slid the knife back into my boot and straitened up. A bell rang, signaling midday meal. The crowd around the arena broke up. I grinned when I saw some of the spectators hand another spectator money, grumbling.

"Let's get some food, I'm starved!" Ezio jogged out of the arena and set his staff on the weapons rack. I followed, smiling, and set my staff on the rack. "Race you to the dining hall!" and took off.

Ezio dashed after me, laughing. I ran through the halls and was surprised to hear Ezio's footsteps get louder as he caught up with me. Sooner than I thought possible, I felt him push me to the side and he passed me, slid around the corner, and stumbled right into the dining hall. He turned and grinned at me. "You may be good at fighting, but no one can beat my speed!"

"Ok, Captain Speed. Let's get some food." I said, nudging him out of the doorway and towards food. Once we got some food, we headed a table where Matteo, Rachele, and a few others were.

I set my plate down at an empty spot and casually walked over to Matteo and whacked him upside the head. I then walked back to my chair and, smiling, sat down without a word. Rachele stifled a giggle.

Matteo's face turned red and I smiled smugly. I glared at him, waiting for the explosion. Finally he met my steady gaze and exclaimed, "It's not against the rules, you know! And you started using your throwing knives when he just had a staff, and he wouldn't have lasted long, and... And I'm not going to apologize to you!" The others struggled to keep straight faces and Ezio pretended to cough into a napkin, but I saw the corners of his mouth turn up.

"Apology accepted," I said, grinning. I knew exactly how to push Matteo's buttons. He grumbled, but grinned back.

After we were done eating I took Ezio outside and we ran across the rooftops, practicing free-running for that night's game. Then I had just enough time to show him the basics of knife throwing before the dinner bell rang.


	5. Chapter 5

***Assassins creed is not owned by me. If it was, Ezio's outfit color would be called outfit of darkness, redness, whiteness. But sadly it is not because I don't own it***

**I am open to suggestions for the story. I have the story sort of mapped out in my head, but I can always add things to the story.**

AC Chapter 5

Ezio and I walked to the dining hall, grabbed some food, and headed to the table. Once we were done eating, all the Assassins headed out to the fountain where Mario was waiting with a list of who was on which team for capture-the-flag. Matteo, Rachele, Ezio, Lia, Marcello, Isabella, Nazario, Luigi and I were on one team, with the rest of the Assassins on the other team.

Rachele stepped up and started assigning us jobs according to our skills and then we headed out into our sector to hide our flag. Twenty minutes later, both teams had hidden their flag and Mario blew a horn that signaled the start.

Marcello, Nazario, and Luigi charged forward to meet the oncoming attackers. Rachele, Lia, and Isabella patrolled our territory to make sure no one slipped through while Matteo, Ezio, and I silently made out way into enemy territory.

For the first two hundred meters or so, we ran or swung along the wooden beam sticking out from the side of the buildings. Then, once we were sure we were past the first of the guards, we climbed up onto the actual rooftops and ran further into the other team's sector.

"Ok, we need to find the flag. Any ideas where it is?" I rose from the crouch I was in as high as I dared, because we didn't know where the other guards were.

"Sometimes they hide it above that blacksmith in the northeast corner," Matteo suggested, pointing toward a point not too far from where we were.

I nodded and was saying that it was as good a place to start as any when Ezio held up his hand for silence, then pointed to where there was a small platform on the other side of the building. Suddenly Genoah jumped onto the roof from the platform, his eyes gleaming with confidence. Matteo pulled out his sword and met Genoah halfway with a clash of metal on metal.

"Go! Find the flag!" Matteo shouted as his sword met Genoah's again.

Ezio and I didn't hesitate. We spun and dashed to the edge of the roof and leapt across the gap between the buildings, landing and taking off again, barely breaking our stride to jump over another gap.

"This way!" I shouted, veering to the right. After about 10 minutes of running, we arrived at the roof above the blacksmith and found... Nothing.

"Anthony!" I growled. "He knew we would come here. Let's get going. I think I know another place it could be."

"Ok, I'll follow you," Ezio said.

I turned around to take off and found a sword my throat. "Cosima! Leaving so soon?" Anthony said, smiling happily. It isn't often that someone could catch  
>me off guard like that. "Now, where has little Ezio gone off to?"<p>

I turned around and saw that Ezio had disappeared. I caught a glimpse of Ezio's eyes as he peeked over the edge of the roof. I mouthed the words 'Follow us' and he nodded his understanding before disappearing below the edge again. I had explained to him earlier about how the jail for captured opponents was right next to where ever the flag was.

Anthony ran in front of me, trusting that I would follow him because, according to the rules of the game, I had been captured and was therefore, I was honor bound to follow him to the jail. After about fifteen minutes of running, we arrived at a small building that was lower than the others around it. It was backed up against the wall that surrounded the city. All in all, it was a very good place to hide a flag.

I glanced around at the few people at the flag and was glad to see that Matteo was not one of them. Good, he hadn't been captured. Maybe he and Ezio would find each other and work together to get the flag. I caught another glimpse of Ezio jumping between buildings, but he was a virtual ghost after that.

Everything was silent for about a half-hour. Then one of the Assassins patrolling the area around the flag shouted in surprise. Moments later there was a loud THUMP! as someone hit the ground about 5 feet below. A minute later, there was another shout and thump. The other Assassins glanced around nervously, swords at the ready as I smile to myself.

Suddenly, a large white mass flew off of the building next-door and landed in the middle of the guards. The person turned to me and grinned. "Am I late to the party?" Matteo asked.

By that time, the guards had gotten over their shock and charged at Matteo. Matteo whipped out his sword and met the first guard with a loud clash if steel. He shoved the guard back and turned to deflect the second guard's sword. The third guard charged forward, but Ezio jumped down on top of him, sending them both rolling toward the edge.

"Ezio!" I shouted, giving him as much warning I was allowed to, being captured and all. He glanced at the edge which he was inches from falling off of and his eyes widened. He managed to pull his sword out and put it on the guard's neck.

"There, I killed you! Now would you stop squirming!" Ezio shouted at the guard.

I chuckled when the guard responded, saying, "Well, then, if I'm dead, can you get those monkey arms of me so I can get up?" He shoved Ezio's arms off and stood up. Turning to me he smiled. "Sorry about that, Cosima. How did you get captured in the first place?"

My smile immediately turned into a scowl. "Never speak of it, Dino."

Dino smiled but wisely didn't say anything. Ezio grinned but also stayed silent.

By this time, Matteo had 'killed' the other guards. "Ezio, would you like I do the honors?" he gestured to the flag. Ezio smiled and walked over to the flag and grabbed it.

"So now we take it to Uncle Mario?" Ezio asked.

"Yes, now go! The others and I will make our way back. Matteo, go with him." I said and he nodded and took off.

"The guards I took out should already be back, so don't worry about them." I nodded at what Matteo said and he took off to catch up with Ezio.

The three guards and I hopped onto the roof of the next building and quickly made our way to the Villa.

After about 15 minutes we finally made it to the Villa. Most of the Assassins were gathered and many were congratulating Ezio and slapping him on the back. Mario was standing off to the side looking very proud of his nephew. And he had good reason to: his nephew was a star after one day. I walked over and whispered in his ear, "Good job Ezio. I would trust you with my life." He looked shocked. His face showed that he knew that was not something to be taken lightly.

BTW: Dino is pronounced (dee-noh)


	6. Chapter 6

***I do not own Assassin's Creed.***

**In this chapter, I'm going to start using Ezio's point of view, so this will be interesting... Oh, and for a while, It probably won't follow the story too much, but oh well!**

**Chapter 6  
><strong>  
>1478<p>

_Cosima's POV:  
><em>  
>In the two years that had passed, Ezio had learned much and was nearly as good as me in some skills and better in a others. Now I had been sent by Mario to go with Ezio and help him get revenge on the people who had killed his family. First we went to Florence to search for the group of people responsible for his family's death.<p>

While there, we got cornered on the top of a tower. Ezio was surrounded by soldiers and I was cornered, my feet inches from the edge. So, in other words, just a normal day.

I was swinging my sword like crazy, trying to break through and immediately ducking to avoid getting my head chopped off. Finally, I managed to push one of the guards off the edge of the tower. Now there were only two soldiers trapping me on the corner, but both of them were keeping their distance so that I couldn't throw them off of the tower. One of the soldiers thrust a spear at me and I stumbled backwards. The other soldier thrust his sword at me and I stepped back onto... Nothing.

"Ezio!" I shouted as I tumbled backwards off the edge. I had just enough time to see his face pale with shock before stone and sky filled my vision as I tumbled head over heels down the side of the tower. My left shoulder  
>smashed against the stone and I immediately lost all feeling in my left arm.<p>

I saw a window coming up quickly and shot my right arm out to catch the ledge. My hand gripped the sill tightly, but I couldn't hold on long. As spots started to dance in front of my eyes I whispered, "Please, Ezio, hurry!"

_Ezio's POV:_

I had just gotten rid of about half of my opponents when I heard Cosima shout my name.

"Ezio!" I looked over and the blood drained from my face. I hastily shoved the rest of my opponents off of the tower and met what were left of the soldiers Cosima had been facing. I slashed one in the side and he collapsed. The next one thrust his spear at me and I grabbed it, flipped it around, and stabbed it back at him, piercing his light chest armor.

Dashing down the stairs, I tried not to imagine seeing Cosima's broken body at the bottom but couldn't get the image out of his head. I almost ran past the window, but heard a mutter and glanced out.

"Cosima!" I shouted. She looked up, relief flooding her eyes. "I've got you," I said, gently gripped her arm and pulled her up into the tower.

_Cosima's POV:  
><em>  
>My fingers were slipping. I knew that certain death lay a little under a hundred feet below if I let go, but I couldn't hold on much longer. "Ezio, where are you?" I muttered through gritted teeth.<p>

Suddenly, strong hands were gripping my arm and pulling me into the tower. For a moment I simply lay on the ground, gasping for air after I released a breath I didn't know I'd been holding.

Then Ezio knelt next to me on the ground. His gentle fingers felt my left shoulder, frowning. I looked over at it and grimaced. "Are you ok? Does it hurt?" he said, concern in his dark brown eyes.

"It's fine. Just a scrape." his eyebrows lifted with disbelief as he looked at the torn white fabric with blood beginning to turn it red. "Well that might have been a bit of an exaggeration... But it's not bad enough that I can't go on with the mission."

"Go on with the mission? You're hurt! I'll go on alone." Ezio said.

I rolled my eyes. "Ezio, I'm fine! It's nothing fatal." I tried my best not to show how bad it hurt.

Ezio nodded hesitantly, but I could tell he wasn't buying my response. "Ok... But if you can't go on, just tell  
>me and I'll-"<p>

"Ezio! Stop worrying! This is what I've been trained for. Now let's get to the top of the tower and see where we need to go like we planned to." I stood up and started walking up the stairs before he could say anything else.

When we got to the top Ezio pointed to a large building about a mile away. "That is where he will be. There, we will overwhelm his guards and kill him." Ezio's face was serious, but I saw a smile hidden in his eyes. He was finally going to get revenge for his family's death.  
><strong><br>*reviews are like food and water for me: I need them to live!***


	7. Chapter 7

***I do not own Assassin's Creed***

**I am sorry for the suckyness of my writing :( I realized I have not been using any Italian, so I'm starting now. So... yah :) thank you for your reviews! Please, I need ideas. I have the general idea mapped out, but I need ideas for things, because I'm not so good with the details. Byesibyes!**

Chapter 7

"There!" I said to Ezio, who was sitting next to me quietly on the rooftop near the palazzo de signoria. "He's on the roof, surrounded by guards."

"I see him." Ezio muttered. I glanced over at him, trying to read his expression, but his hood was up and shadows veiled his expression. It gave him a dark and mysterious look, and if I hadn't been the one that trained him to do that it would have been terrifying. "Soon it will be dark enough. Then we will kill Francesco and be away, hopefully before the guards even see us."

I nodded, silently counting he guards. "He only has about 10-15 guards up there. If you kill Francesco quickly, I can take care of the guards until you are done." Ezio glanced at me, but I glared at him from under my hood, daring him to say something about me not being able to do it or my shoulder being hurt. He opened his mouth to say something, then seemed to reconsider it and closed his mouth with a nod.

"Very well," he said simply, and turned to look at the Palazzo again. After a few minutes he stood up. "Time to get going." he started walking forward but I grabbed his arm.

"Aspettare. I will distract the guards so that you have easier access to Francesco. Wait until I have as many as I can trying to get me." he nodded and I took off toward the Palazzo. I leapt towards the large building and swiftly climbed up the side.

As soon as I jumped over the edge and stabbed two guards I heard Francesco de'Pazzi shout, "You, again! What aren't you dead? Men! Slaughter him!" I grinned to myself when he mistook me for Ezio. Francesco was in for a nasty surprise. I quickly killed the first few men but was soon surrounded as Francesco started to shout again. "Oh! The boy thinks himself a master swordsman. So you've drawn some blood! My men will make short work of you! Desisti! You're only delaying your inevitable and painful end!" I rolled my eyes, tired of this man's over confidence. As I got rid of more guards, Francesco kept shouting insults but I ignored him. He was no more than background noise. More and more guards surrounded me, three or four deep in any direction, way more than I had estimated were up here. Soon they would break through my defenses and I would be finished.

"Fretta, Ezio!" I muttered through gritted teeth. I whirled around to block a blow to my neck. A moment later I felt a sword slice across my right arm and I nearly dropped my sword. As I turned to fight the guard behind me I felt pain slice across my left side. I struggled to stay upright as one if he guards slammed the butt of their sword against my injured shoulder. And another sliced their sword on my leg. My sword was knocked from my hands so I flicked my wrist to release my hidden blade. In the moment I was vulnerable and weaponless the butt of a sword slammed into my head. I collapsed to the ground, my vision blurry. I waited for one of the guards to thrust his sword to kill me, but it never happened. A person in white leapt into the circle and started beating the guards back. I stumbled to my feet and picked up my sword.

"To the edge! We do a leap of faith, you first." Ezio shouted over the noise of the guards shouting and the ringing of metal on metal. I nodded, bringing my blade up to block a strike towards his shoulder.

"Lead the way!" I replied. I stabbed one guard in the stomach with my sword and immediately stabbed another in the throat with my hidden blade. Ezio shoved a guard away, creating a break in the circle around us. We dashed through the gap and scrambled up the wall to a higher level. The guards raced to ladders to climb up to where we were. Ezio and I dashed to the edge.

"Here!" Ezio stood on the edge, glancing down. By that time, some of the guards were on the higher level and running toward us. I stepped up onto the ledge next to Ezio and glanced back at the guards just in time to see one aiming a crossbow at Ezio.

"Ezio!" I shouted, shoving him out of the way of the arrow's path. The arrow bit into my left shoulder and the momentum sent me flying off the side into the hay stack below. I staggered out of the hay bale just in time to hear Ezio land behind me. Without a word he vaulted out and we started running to the house we had been staying at. Slipping inside, Ezio locked the door behind us. I stumbled over to my corner of the room and layer down on my bed of straw that I had gathered. A soft moan escaped my lips as I started to feel he various cuts and wounds I had gathered throughout the day.

Ezio glanced over, looking worried. "Are you hurt?" he said, his brow creased as he walked over.

"No, I'm just moaning for fun! Yes, I'm hurt!" I growled at him. He looked surprised and a little mad and I immediately felt a little bad. But not too bad.

"Here." he said gruffly as he handed me a bottle of medicine. I nodded my thanks to him and turned to let him inspect the arrow hat had pierced the thin armor on my shoulder. "This is going to hurt," he warned, just before jerking the arrow out. I groaned, gritting my teeth. "Stop being such a bambino!" Ezio said, then immediately regretted it when I punched him in the knee. "Cosa che per?" Ezio pouted. He walked over to his corner and immediately fell asleep.

I didn't respond, just grinned to myself. I carefully pulled off my outer armor and blood soaked robes, left with nothing but some brown trousers and a white shirt. I carefully bound up my wounds, wincing as I set the cloth on the wounds. Finally, at almost midnight, I laid down and let myself drift off to sleep. 

**Translations:**

**Aspettare- wait**

**Desisti- stop**

**Fretta- hurry**

**Cosa che per?- What was that for?**

**Thanks for reading! Please review!**


	8. Chapter 8

***I do not own Assassin's Creed***

**So, the 8****th**** chapter! Thank you all who reviewed and added my story to your Story Alert and stuff, so, again, thank you so much! This chapter I tried to add a little more drama, so let's see how it goes, shall we?**

**Chapter 8**

_Ezio's POV:_

When the sun began to peek through the small window near the roof I woke up. Groaning I got up and began preparing some food. I heard a small moan and was surprised when I looked over and saw Cosima still asleep. She was usually an annoyingly early riser. I turned back to the food I was preparing, ready to gloat over my waking up earlier than Cosima.

A few minutes later I heard a mutter which was followed by the sound of Cosima tossing and turning in her sleep with more mutters mixed in. Soon the muttering began to turn into words. "No! Father, no!"

"Cosima?" I walked over, wondering what was happening in whatever dream she was having.

"Get away! Get away!" she shouted. I set my hand on her shoulder, trying to wake her up. When she continued to shout I shook her shoulder and she sat up suddenly, wide awake and gasping. "Ezio..." she muttered after she stopped gasping, brow furrowed.

"You were having a nightmare, I was worried. I mean... That you would hurt yourself more." I said, awkwardly, backing up.

"Oh. Thanks, then." Cosima, said a haunted look in her eyes.

"No problem," I muttered. "I'm going to talk to Lorenzo. I'll be back before midday and we can return to Monteriggioni." Cosima nodded, but I could tell her mind was elsewhere. I paused for a moment to make sure she was ok then left.  
><strong><br>(I know, anticlimactic exit :( sorry)**

_Cosima's POV:_

Waking up to Ezio leaning over me and shaking my injured shoulder like a maniac was not my idea of fun. "Ezio..." I muttered with a warning tone in my voice.

I was glad when he backed away, but any slight grin that had been on my face was washed off when he said, "You were having a nightmare, I was worried. I mean... That you would hurt yourself more." The nightmares. They had been getting worse ever since Ezio had come to Monteriggioni, and now they were starting to get out of control, seeping into the waking world.

"Oh. Thanks, then." I said, remembering what happened in my dream. I stared at the ground.

"No problem," he said. "I'm going to talk to Lorenzo. I'll be back before midday and we can return to Monteriggioni." I nodded, barely listening, trying to figure out a way to stop the nightmares, but after 2 years, I was figuring out that there was no way to stop them.

Shaking off the feeling of helplessness, I stood and put on a dark green dress I had brought in case I needed to blend in and headed to a nearby stream to wash my blood and dirt soaked robes. On the way back from the stream, I stopped to buy some food and noticed a wanted poster hanging nearby. I quickly paid to the food and walked over to the poster and was frustrated but not surprised that it showed a drawing of Ezio and warned of 'L'assassino e la sua controparte femminile'. I quickly ripped the sign down and stuffed it in with the robes and food that I was carrying.

As soon as I was back at Ezio and I's temporary home, I changed into my robes and packed everything up. Glancing out the window at the sun, I noticed that it was almost midday. "Ezio fretta... You are a wanted man..." I muttered to myself. As if summoned by my words, the door flew open and Ezio scrambled in. He slammed the door shut again and ducked under the window just as guards ran by, shouting for citizens to get out of the way.

A few moments later Ezio asked quietly, "Are they gone?" I discreetly glanced out the window then nodded. "I think we need to get out of here," Ezio muttered as he stood up and dusted off his robes.

I raised an eyebrow at the obvious understatement but didn't respond. "I'll get the horses. Meet me at the stables. With no more than 10 guards, per favore. I am a bambino, after all." I grinned sarcastically.

Ezio smirked "And don't you forget it," he joked.

I picked up the bag that contained Ezio and I's meager belongings. "Leave ten minutes after me. It will take me longer to get to the stables since I can't risk the rooftops anymore. Stay safe, try to stay undetected." I looked up him sternly, for the first time realizing how much his tall form dwarfed my thin 5'5" height.

He nodded seriously, all joking gone. "You stay safe too. I've spent too much energy keeping you safe for it to be wasted on one guard's lucky swing."

With a nod and a slight smile, I slipped out the door, heading toward the borders of the city. I walked calmly, bowing my head as I passed guards, moving within groups to stay unseen. There was an annoying amount of guards out patrolling the streets, no doubt looking for Ezio and me. I was nearly to the stables when I felt a weight suddenly disappear from my hip. Glancing down I saw that my coin purse had been stolen and growled in frustration. Looking back, I saw the thief sprinting away. I dashed after him trying to catch him quickly, but the crowds kept getting in the way. A few minutes later the thief dashed into an alley with me hot on his trail. A heartbeat later, I turned into the alley and found the thief standing calmly at the end of the alley trying to catch his breath. I approached the man and was in the middle of saying, "I don't want to hurt you" when I felt a person step up behind me and wrap his hand around my mouth. I struggled and screamed, trying to break free, but the person held me firmly.

"Cosima! Desisti! Ezio draws closer to death as you struggle!" I heard the person hiss in my ear. I immediately stopped struggling and the person released me.

I spun around and glared at the person. "Volpe, what are you speaking of? Che cosa sai?"

"my thieves heard that A trap was set to catch Ezio and, eventually, you. Not ten minutes ago one of my thieves came to me and said that the Templars have captured Ezio and hold him captive, waiting for you. If you do not show, they will kill Ezio in a half hour. My thieves and I will come with you to help retrieve Ezio." La Volpe waited for my response.

"Of course, where is he?" I asked and immediately the thief who had taken my money ran by me out of the alley. I dropped my bag and La Volpe and I followed the thief. As we ran, more men joined us, obviously La Volpe's thieves.

Twenty minutes later, the thief slowed and turned to me. Pointing to an archway just down the street, he said, "Ezio is in there with thirty men, at the very least, guarding him. They might have archers, too, but I don't know." I nodded my thanks to him, then looked at the archway, trying to come up with a plan. Finally, I had a plan. A bad plan, but a plan none the less.

"Volpe, I'm going to surrender myself to them. I'll get close to Ezio and try to cut his bonds if he has any. You and your thieves attack, then disappear as soon as we are free." I said, a determined gleam in my eye.

Volpe's lips pressed in a tight line, his disapproval obvious. A moment later he nodded reluctantly. "Good luck," he whispered. I flashed him a confidant smile and walked down to the archway. Taking a deep breath, I turned around the corner. I walked under the archway and into the open. My eyes searched for Ezio and quickly found him. He was kneeling in the middle of all of the guards, head bowed. Even from a distance, I could see the red of blood against his pale skin. I silently cursed the Templars for what they had done to my friend. Pushing back my hood, I shouted to the guards, "I am here! Release my friend, and I will let you live!" Ezio's head lifter in surprise and I saw horror and helplessness written on his face.

"No! Get out! They're going to-" Ezio's shout was cut short as a guard tied a gag around his mouth and whacked the back of his head, leaving me with a growing feeling of worry. They're going to... Going to what?

A moment later I got my answer. I heard the sound of an arrow flying through the air and felt the agony of the arrow piercing my armor near my heart. I stumbled backwards, my knees buckling. One look at Ezio told me that this was what he was trying to warn me of. As I started to fall forwards I heard footsteps and yelling behind me. Strong hands gently picked me up and ran a few steps before setting my limp body on the ground. Looking up, I saw La Volpe, worry etched on his face. I heard him say something to someone, but everything was turning black and all I heard were murmurs. Moments later, my strength failed me and I sank into black nothingness.

**(Dun dun duuuuuuuun!)**

***sorry if it's not good. I love when characters get hurt and their friends are like 'oh, no!', but I'm not very good at writing it ***


	9. Chapter 9

***I do not own assassins Creed***

**Another chapter! Woo hoo! Thank you for all who put this story in their favorites or added it to their watch list. You are the ones that keep me writing this And pweeeeeeeeaaaaaase review! Pwease! Also, I'm so sorry for not putting the translations in the last chapter! Just in case you didn't get them, I will put them up here:**

**L'assassino e la sua controparte femminile- the assassin and his female counterpart  
>fretta- hurry<br>per favore- please  
>bambino- baby<br>Desisti- stop  
>Che cosa sai?- what do you know?<br>**

**Chapter 9**

_Ezio's POV:_

The moment I entered the square I knew something was wrong. It was too quiet; there were too few people around. Moments later guards rushed out from behind the pillars around the square and surrounded me. Pulling out my sword I glanced around for an escape route, but the gates had already been closed at all the exits and guards were still streaming into the square.

"Idiota!" I cursed my own stupidity. I raised my sword, ready to fight the guards even when they outnumbered me fifty to one. The guards shifted, waiting for someone else to move first. Finally I leapt at one of the guards and stabbed his neck, bringing my sword out just in time to block a strike from a guard behind me. I stepped forward and stabbed the man in the stomach with my hidden blade. A few minutes later at least twenty men lay dead, but I was tiring quickly. My clothes were sliced in multiple places and stained with my blood and the blood of the guards.

As I reach forward to stab a guard, another guard kicked the back of my legs and I fell to my knees. The guard then stepped on my back, forcing me to the ground. "Don't move, Assassino!" the guard spat. I struggled, trying to get up and another guard kicked me in the head. Dazed, I lay still and allowed them to tie my hands behind my back. The guard stepping on my back took his foot off and immediately it was replaced with a sword. "Get up! Slowly, or I'll skewer you where you lay." I struggled to my knees, then to my feet. "Now walk. But don't try to run. You'd be dead within 5 steps."

I walked to where the man, a captain, was guiding me. "I have powerful allies." I said, hoping to intimidate the man. He just chuckled as I continued, trying to buy time. "They will come for me, and all that will be left of your men will be bodies."

"Stupid Assassino. That is what we want, your allies to come for you. Or, more specifically, the ragazza who trained you. My master is willing to pay a high price for her pretty little head."

I glared at the captain. "She will slay you where you stand!" I shouted at the captain. He lashed out with the butt of his sword, hitting my head, forcing me to my knees. A small trickle of blood ran down the side of my face.

"Now, you will stay on your knees and look as pathetic as possible, much like you do now. If the ragazza does not come within 45 minutes from now, you will die. And if she does come, the moment she steps through that archway, she will be crippled enough to be taken into custody." the captain smiled devilishly at me and I glared back. The captain stalked back to his hiding place behind a nearby pulled to wait for Cosima. I let my head rest on the ground, trying to come up with a way to escape or tell Cosima not to come but came up with nothing.

Nearly forty minutes later, the captain was starting to stalk back and forth, frustrated because Cosima had not showed and his plan had failed when I heard a person shout, "I am here! Release my friend, and I will let you live!" I recognized Cosima's voice immediately and my head shot up to see her standing defiantly in front of the archway, hood back.

"No! Get out! They're going to-" I yelled at her, trying to warn her of the danger but a guard behind be pulled a gag around my mouth and whacked me on the back of the head. A moment later I heard the dull THWAK! of a crossbow bolt being released and saw Cosima stagger backwards as an arrow appeared in the area around her heart. La Volpe and his men ran out o the shadows and his men met the guards with a clash of metal on metal. La Volpe picked up Cosima and carried her around the corner, hopefully to safety. I staggered to my feet while my guards were occupied and ran to where La Volpe was. I shouted his name, but it was muffled and distorted because of the gag. He quickly cut my bonds and gag off.

"Can you fight?" he demanded. I glanced at Cosima's still body, still slightly in shock. "Ezio! Can you fight?" Volpe shouted, bringing me back to the problem at hand. Numbly, I nodded and pulled out my sword, surprised the captain had let me keep it.

We leapt into battle, destroying any guards who dared face us. Within minutes the 30 or so guards were dead. Without a word, La Volpe and I ran to where Cosima lay, pale and still. "Quickly, carry her and I will lead you to a dottore we can trust." I nodded, scooped up Cosima's limp body, and followed La Volpe as his sprinted down the streets, shoving citizens out of the way. A few minutes later he knocked on the door of a small building. Without waiting on an answer he opened the door and beckoned me in after him. A motherly looking woman sitting in a chair vaulted to her fee when we walked in.

"Volpe! What is the meaning of this?" she glared at the leader of the thieves.

"Our friend is badly injured and in need if medical attention. There was no one else I could trust on such short notice. Please, Risma." the woman squinted at Cosima, and then gestured for me to follow her into the next room.

"Set her here." she pointed at a table in the middle of the room. I gently set Cosima on it and stepped back. Looking at her, hurt and helpless, I could barely imagine that it was the same person as the girl who had trained and mentored me for the past two years. "What happened?" Risma asked, already pulling supplies out of a cabinet hanging on a nearby wall. . Setting them on a small table in the corner she pulled a rope three times and a faint ringing could be heard. Moments later, thumps of someone running down stairs were heard and a girl about seventeen-years-old appeared in the doorway.

"The guards captured my friend here and she was trying to rescue him. They shot her. From what they said, I can assume the bolt might be poisoned."

Risma nodded and arched out to pull the rope once more. "I will do the best I can for your friend. One of my trainees will care for your wounds and see that you have a room upstairs."

"Thank you," I said, then followed Volpe out of the room. A man stood in the room we had first came into and started seeing to my minor cuts and bruises. The moment he was done I started pacing the rough wooden floors.

La Volpe watched in amusement for a few minutes before saying, "You know, making a hole in Risma's floor will not help Cosima." I glared at him and kept pacing. He sighed and walked over, grabbing my arm to abruptly stop my pacing. "Come on. You have the list of the people who were conspirators against your family. Let's get started on getting rid of them." I nodded, realizing there was nothing I could do here.

**(I really don't want to go through all the stuff he does so... Yah. Back to where my character is in it :)  
><strong>  
><em>2 days later:<em>

I walked into Cosima's room again, checking to see if she had woken up. No, again. As La Volpe had suspected, the arrow had been poisoned, putting the victim in a mini-coma. Cosima was looking a lot better. But she still hadn't woken up. I glanced out the window, knowing I would get sentimental if I went over to Cosima, and I just wouldn't accept that. "Oh, Cosima! I told you to be careful!" I muttered to myself, not expecting an answer.

This is why I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard Cosima reply. "And I told you to stay undetected. But why on earth would I expect you to actually do that?" I spun around to see her sitting up, smirking.

I could think of a hundred different things to say, but all I could manage was, "I have no idea why you would expect anything else." and a huge grin. She raised an eyebrow but didn't respond.

"Now, where are my robes, so we can be on our way?" I opened to respond, saying how she wasn't ready but quickly shut it when she glared at me.

"Over there, freshly cleaned and washed, courtesy of an old friend." I smiled, thinking of my visit with Paola, a courtesan who had trained me to blend and pickpocket.

"Sure... Just an old friend." Cosima replied with a known look and I sighed, wondering why I'd been worried. Someone with her barbed tongue did not die easily. I quietly stepped out to allow her to dress and prepare my things for the trip back home.

**(I know, lame :( sorry)**

**Translations:**

**Idiota- idiot**  
><strong>Assassino- assassin<strong>  
><strong>ragazza- girl<strong>  
><strong>dottore- doctor<strong>  
><strong>Risma- kind<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

***I do not own Assassin's Creed. But I do own Cosima Emilo and her family. And a puppy. But that's beside the point***

**This chapter is extra long, so it's kind of a blessing and a curse, so have fun! Please review! I mentioned a few chapters back (I think) that I require them to live. Right now, I am slowly dying from lack of reviews **** and thank you to those who added this story to their alert list.**

**Chapter 10**

The ride back to Monteriggioni should have been quiet and nice if Ezio wasn't such a... well, Ezio.

"So, how are you feeling? I was really worried about you, you know, so you could show me how to do some of those fancy tricks you like to show off with. By the way, how have you been sleeping? And what was that nightmare, the one you were yelling in a few days back, about? I've been wondering." Ezio rambled.

"I'm good. How courteous of you, I would have hated to die with you not knowing 'those fancy moves.' I've sleep pretty well the last couple nights, considering I've been unconscious. That's none of your business, and I don't really care if you've been wondering. You're not finding out." I answered, keeping my eyes on the dusty roads ahead of us. I felt Ezio's eyes watching me and turned to glare him in the eyes. He met my gaze without flinching, something not many people can do.

Ezio pouted. "Please? Just tell me what's so scary." I didn't respond, switching my gaze on the horizon. "You know, if you don't tell me, I'm just going to ask my uncle. Or Matteo. Just tell me."

I finally snapped. "You know what, I will tell you, so that you stop taking your cushy life for granted. I am the version of you that wasn't able to save my mother and sisters, or ever getting the chance to help my father. Or get back at the people who took the life I knew and most of my family's lives away. They still roam the world, bragging of the bringing down of the 'Amelio Menace.' so I apologize if I don't want to ruin your misguided self-pity by telling you that there are people in the world that are much worse off than you." by the end of my little speech I was shouting. Ezio's was frozen with his mouth open, no doubt ready to complain again before I responded, surprised by my outburst. I felt tears stinging my eyes when I thought about what I had been talking about. I kicked my horse, sending it into a gallop before the tears could fall. As the horse lengthened the space between me and Ezio faces flashed before my eyes. Little Maria, mother, Allegra, and last of all, father. Kind father. He had taught me almost everything I knew about being an Assassin. And in a single moment, one well placed arrow, he was gone forever. Tears were streaming down my face now. I had kept my emotions bottled up for so long that now, letting a little out had caused an eruption, releasing all the pent up anger and sadness out. I mentally kicked myself for it and unsuccessfully tried to stop the flood of tears. I checked my horse which stopped suddenly, glad for a rest. "Oh, quit that. I know you can go farther," I muttered to my horse, but my words lacked their usual joking tone. I dismounted, tying the horses reigns to a nearby tree and wondered a few feet before sitting, waiting for Ezio to catch up.

I didn't have to wait long before I saw him on his horse as a dark blob on the horizon approaching quickly. I sighed, preparing myself for the teasing and taunting his arrival would no doubt bring. That's why I was surprised that he simply sat next to me and put his arm around my shoulders. "Cosima, I am sorry for your loss. Please, tell me about it, so that I will not be so insensitive in the future." he gently smoothed my shoulder length blonde hair while speaking. I was completely surprised by the change in his attitude. This was a young man who was a known womanizer and yet here he was, the only person who cared enough to listen to my story.

"Ok..." I said slowly. I took a deep breath before starting my story. "It started not long after I turned fifteen..."

_March 1473_

AC Cosima's memory

the morning sun was deceptively bright and cheery when I woke, ready to go on an assignment. Getting up, I donned my dark blue Assassins robes and carefully tied the black sash with the Assassin symbol around my waist. I gently smoothed the silk, remembering what my father always said: 'Being an Assassin is a true honor. To show that you respect that, you must always look impeccable, act honorably, and care deeply. Even at the price of death.' I smiled to myself. I would do these things and make my father proud.

"Cosima?" My father's deep voice drifted into my room. "Are you coming? We have much to do today!"

"Coming!" I called sweetly. I grabbed my sword and hidden blade and dashed out of my room. Strapping on my hidden blade, I jogged down the hall to my father's study, eager to face the day. My 19-year-old brother, Adriano, was already waiting with my father. My father smiled when I walked in and abandoned the paperwork he had been pretending was interesting.

"Ah, mio caro! Now we can have some fun."

I grinned. "What are we doing today, Father?"

"A friend of mine had money stolen from him. We are going to... persuade the thief to give it back." My father grinned, a gleam in his eye.

"Then what are we waiting for?" I laughed. My brother chuckled and my father stood up and headed to the door, a smile on his face.

_2 hours later_

"What is with all the guards?" I muttered after hauling myself out of the water.

"I don't know, but I'm getting sick of throwing myself in the water," my brother sat next to me, wringing water out of his hood before slipping it back over his head.

Our father stood behind us, watching for guards. "Come on, we need to get going. It seems that the guards are after us, and that means that your mother and sisters might be in danger." My eyes widened when he said that and my brother popped to his feet. Without a word we all swarmed up the wall next to us. We dashed across the rooftops, racing against the clock, trying to get home before disaster struck. As we breezed across the roof tiles arrows skittered next to our feet, sent by a few archers who were fast enough to recognize us. Twenty minutes later we dropped down to ground level in front of the gates of our casa and ran inside. One glance inside told us we were too late. The body of our maid lay in the main hall tossed to the side like a rag doll. Holding back tears, I followed my father into his study. I stood frozen in the doorway, filled with horror at the sight of my mother and two sisters dead.  
>"What's wrong? Are mother and the girls alright?" Adriano pushed past me to see what had happened. He froze for a second, then ran over and dropped to his knees next to their still bodies. I saw tears run down his face, but his expression was unreadable.<p>

I finally was able to move and took halting steps towards where my father was digging through a chest in the corner. He pulled out three pieces of paper gestured for me to come the rest of the way to him. "Adriano. Come here please." my father called softly. Adriano stood up slowly. He seemed to whisper a few last words to our mother and sisters before walking over to us. "Cosima, Adriano. These are very important papers. I am going to hide them in the wall here. If something happens to me, one of you must come and retrieve these papers and take them to Mario Auditore at Montiggaroni. He will know what to do with them." my father opened a small hidden compartment in the wall that I had not known existed and slid the papers in. "Do you understand?" he looked both of us in the eyes until we nodded. "Now come, we must leave."  
>"But what of mother and the girls? We must give them a proper burial!" Adriano asked.<br>"We will come back for them later," my father grabbed one of my arms and one of Adriano's arms and pulled us into the main hall. "Now, we must leave before-"

"Before what, Assassino?" A high-ranking guard stepped into the hall and 30 or more guards flowed in after him. Adriano and I slid out our swords and readied our hidden blades, but father held up a hand for us to stop.

"Stop. We cannot fight our way out of this. Put your blade away." I slowly slid my sword back into its scabbard. The guard had a smug look on his face and it was everything in me not to wipe the look off with the sharp edge of a sword. I glanced over at my brother and saw him gripping his sword, ready to pull it out at a moment's notice.

"Bind their hands and relieve them of their weapons." The guard forces my hands behind my back and tied them tightly together. They did the same to my brother and father, making sure the bonds were tight enough to cause pain. I felt a guard unstrapped my hidden blade and slide my sword out of its scabbard. He pulled my throwing knives out of their sheath on my hip and in my boots.

"Ahh, what must such a bellezza break the law? Maybe I could help..." I raised my eyebrows, making my disgust as obvious as possible.

"I would rather die," I growled. The guard slapped me as hard and I heard my brother lunge at him as I stumbled to the side.

"Enough!" my father and the head guard shouted at the same time. "Take them away." the head guard turned his nose up at us and left. The guards set us in a cart and drove it to the prison. The ride itself was a blur of guards shouting insults as we passed them and citizens backing away, fear on their faces. At one point I thought I saw a figure in black leaping between buildings, an assassin, like my father, brother, and I. I glanced over and could tell that my father had seen the person too. His lips were pursed and he stared at each alleyway as if hoping to see the person again. When we reached the prison we were taken out of the cart and led up to a small cell at the top of a tower. The cell was guarded by no less than ten guards. The cell door slammed shut with a BANG!, sealing our fate. I wandered over to a corner and sat down on a small pile of hay. Slowly, I drifted off to sleep.

I woke up a few hours later to the sound of a key in the lock of our cell door. "Follow me," the guard who opened the cell door barked and then spun on heel and walked back down the hall.  
>I hopped to my feet and walked over to help my father get up from where he'd been sitting in the corner. As he got up he stumbled and I felt him slip something in my boot. He tripped and landed next to Adriano and slipped something in his boot also. He glanced at me and I gave him the smallest of nods to signal that father had done the same thing for both of us. We quickly followed the guard down the hall. As we walked, I leaned over to my father and whispered, "Where are we going? What are they going to do with us?"<p>

"We are to be hanged publicly at sunset to discourage crimes against Venezia." I sighed, having expected nothing less. What I was surprised at was how I had not even the slightest fear of death. Adriano stared straight ahead, jaw clenched. "If there is a chance to escape, you two go, I'll hold them off," he whispered.

My father shook his head. "If there is a chance, there will be no time for bravado. You run and don't look back."

"Enough talking!" the guard barked. After going down countless flights of stairs, we had reached the bottom. The guard opened the door and shoved us out. The silence was deafening as every guard and citizen watched us walk towards the gallows. I walked slowly up the steps, imagining all the other people who had gone up the steps alive and come back down dead. I stepped up the middle rope with my father on my right and my brother on my left.

"Niccolò Amelio, you and your accomplices stand accused of crimes againstVenezia, the highest among those being treason. Do you have any evidence to counter these accusations?" the executioner announced in a loud voice, looking bored.

My father said nothing, just stared into the crowd. A small smile appeared on his face and as the executioner spoke again he shouted, "Cosima, Adriano! The knives!" we understood immediately, snatching the knives our father had slipped in out boots earlier. As the lever was pulled, releasing the ground beneath our feet we all reached up and sliced the rope in one clean slice. I crashed into the hard packed dirt below me; I jumped to my feet and leaped onto the wood platform above me. Guards advanced toward me and I held up my fists, and was surprised to find my bonds sliced through. As one of the guards stepped forward to swing his sword at me a throwing knife embedded itself in his neck. A hooded man in black jumped into the platform and grabbed my arm. "Cosima, come with me!" I leapt off the platform without hesitation, pushing through the stunned crowd with the mystery man.

"What of my father and brother?" I gasped as we pushed made it out of the crowd and raced down the streets.

"Others will get them! Now hurry, the guards are no doubt already searching for you!" the man in black pulled my arm, urging me to run faster. We raced on, not stopping for anything. After an hour of nonstop sprinting, the man slowed down and led me through a small alleyway to a small boat dock.

"What is this place?" I gasped, out of breath.

"The thieves guild," the man in black replied, only slightly less out of breath than me. He pushed back his hood and I was surprised to see that he was about my age. Shaggy dark brown hair flew everywhere, giving him a dangerous, yet childish look. "By the way, I'm Matteo. I'm sorry we couldn't meet under better circumstances."

I offered him a half-hearted smile. "I'm sorry, Matteo. I'm just worried about my family." I apologized, feeling bad for not really looking like I cared.

"I didn't know you cared that much," I spun around, delighted to hear my brothers voice again.  
>"Grazie dio! You're alive!" he smiled tiredly. I turned to the girl in brown and green next to him. "Grazie per il vostro aiuto." the girl smiled and nodded.<p>

"It was no problem. My name is Rosa. And as fun as this has been, we should get inside. You two are wanted fugitives, after all." I nodded. Rosa and Matteo led us into one of the buildings next to the dock. Inside was a large office with books filling the shelves. I loved reading, but was top worried about my father to read any of them.

"Please, sit down," Matteo gestured to a few chairs.

"What about you two?" Adriano asked as Rosa and Matteo started walking back through the door.

"Antonio, the man with your father, might have run into trouble. We're going to see if there's anything we can do to help." Matteo offered us an apologetic smile and a shrug. "Help yourself to any of the food or books. And there's a room down the hall you can sleep in if you need to. We will be back as soon as possible." With that, Matteo and Rosa headed out the door. I walked over to a bookshelf and ran a hand over the spines, not really paying attention. Adriano paced from one side of the room to the other and back again. A few minutes later I got bored of pretending to be interested in the books. I wondered over to a chair and before I knew it, I was drifting off to sleep.

I woke up Adriano shaking my shoulder gently, a look of mourning on his face. "What's wrong?" I asked, suddenly awake.

"Father... Father and Antonio were stopped and overwhelmed. Both were seriously injured and the guards left them in an alley. By the time Rosa and Matteo found hem, father... Father had died." my lip quivered and tears formed in my eyes. Adriano wrapped his arms around me as I sobbed silently on his shoulder. A few minutes later, my sobs stopped and I looked up at my older brother to see him wipe a few tears away.

"So we are the last ones in our family," I murmured, surprised at how calm I was. Adriano nodded. "Can... Can I see him?" Adriano nodded again and led me outside. In the boat dock there was a small gondola with a man's body inside. I slowly walked over and looked in. My father's body lay on the gondola, hands folded over a sword handle, his face peaceful. "Goodbye," I whispered, then turned to the three other people beside the boat dock. I recognized Matteo and Rosa but the third man was new to me. He was sitting on the ground against some crates with large bandages around his torso. I walked over to him and kneeled at his side. "Thank you for everything you have done."  
>"I did nothing, I couldn't even save your father." the man whispered.<br>"No. You saved my brother and I's lives. I am sure my father would have wanted nothing less." I gave him a little smile, all I could manage, but enough to reassure the man.

"Thank you for that. And I wish we could honor him better, but we must get you and your brother out of Venezia as soon as possible, so the best we can hope to do is honor him with a burial at sea." I nodded silently as Matteo and Rosa untied the gondola and pushed out toward the open water. I watched as it floated toward the horizon and then turned back to the injured man.

"Am I right to assume that you are Antonio?" I said to him, wanting to know who was metaphorically holding me and my brother's lives in their hands.

"Yes, I am Antonio. And we need to get you out of the country, tonight." Matteo walked over and helped Antonio up. Antonio called Rosa over and whispered a few words to her. She nodded and ran off. "Come, we will go in my office until Rosa gets back." Antonio put his arm over my shoulder for support and I helped him into the building.

_1478_

I stared down the road when I finished talking. "What happened then?" Ezio asked.

"I returned to my house to get the pieces of paper, codex pages, then Antonio smuggled us to the docks in a cart, then sent us on a boat with Matteo with us. My brother went to Roma and Matteo and I came to Montiggaroni. I gave the Codex pages to your uncle, and he gave them to your father to translate. And you know the rest from there." I said. Ezio stood up and pulled me to my feet.

"Let's get back home," he said, smiling. I gave him a small smile and we untied our horses and mounted, leading them toward Montiggaroni.

**Translations:**

**Mio cara-my dear**

**Bellezza-beauty**

**Niccolò-victory of the people**

**Grazie dio- thank god**

**Grazie per il vostro auito- thank you for your help**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**If anyone out there is still reading this, please review! I enjoy writing this, but I have 2 or 3 other fanfics going at the same time as this, and I just want to know if anyone is reading this, so that I'm not using time I could have had for my other fanfics on this one. It's really a fluff chapter, so I hope to have another one published soon.**

Chapter 11

When we arrived at Montiggaroni the next afternoon, we headed straight toward Mario's study, although I would have liked to head straight to my bed to rest. Ezio strode past the architect to his sister and said a few words to her. I slipped past him into the study itself and waited without a word. Ezio walked in, as cocky as ever, no sign of the man who had sat beside me as I told my story and sympathized with me. "Hello Zio." Ezio smiled at his uncle.

"Ah, Nipote, Cosima, you're back! How did the mission go?"

Ezio was suddenly serious when he responded. "It went well. Francesco de'Pazzi is dead."

"Bene, bene! But what took so long? Surely you should have made it back a few days ago." Mario asked.

Ezio grinned and glanced at me. "We would have been back sooner, but sleeping beauty here decided to take a nap for a few days." I punched him in the arm, venting the pain I was still feeling from the arrow wound. He pouted and took a few steps away, out of the range of my arm.

Mario looked at us quizzically so I started explaining. "Prince Charming here decided to get caught by guards when we were trying to get out of the city. When I tried to save his worthless hide, I got shot by a poisoned arrow, and barely lived, might I add. So, when you think about it, it is your nephew's fault that we were late."

"Hey!" Ezio frowned. Mario laughed, and I grinned at Ezio. After a moment he grinned back.

"Mario, if it is alright with you, I'm going to get some food and rest. I am injured, after all." I threw the last phrase at Ezio and he smirked at me as I walked out of Mario's office. I smiled at Claudia as I passed her desk. When I reached the top of the stairs, I saw Matteo leaning against the railing, reading something. As I walked by him I said calmly, "Hey, Matteo."

"Hi, Cosima," he responded distractedly. I was almost 30 feet away before he suddenly dropped his papers and ran after me. "Cosima! Your back! How did the mission go?"

I smiled at him, happy to see him again. "Well, I fell off of a tower, nearly got killed by a bunch of guards, got shot by an arrow and fell off of the Palazzo Della Signoria, got shot by another arrow, this time poisoned, and had an emotional breakdown." I smiled at him. He raised his eyebrows at the last part but didn't say anything. "So, did I miss anything here?"

Matteo shrugged. "Nothing much. Just practice and more practice. Now what was that about an emotional breakdown?"

"I had nightmare and Ezio was... Well, Ezio, so I told him what happened and how we left Venezia." I muttered, shrugging. Matteo gave me a little hug and I smiled. He had been the closest thing I had to my brother in the years of separation from my only surviving family member, and he never failed to be able to cheer me up. When he released me from the hug, I stepped towards the hallway leading to my room saying, "I'm going to get some rest, considering I have had quite a hard time in Firenze," I grinned at Matteo before walking down the hall and slipping into my room. I quickly took my armor off and collapsed on my bed, asleep almost before I hit the crisp, clean sheets.

I woke up late the next morning, shocked at how long I had slept. I hurried to put on my armor and all but ran to grab some food before heading to training. After I had wolfed down some food I dashed to one of the training circles. I was amused to see that Matteo and Ezio were in the circle training with their swords, Ezio already sporting multiple small cuts. "Mind if I join in?" I called from the edge. Matteo glanced over and grinned, while Ezio's face was one of pure horror. I laughed, hopping over the wall of the training circle.

"Don't worry, Ezio, well get her!" Matteo smiled at him.

I pretended to pout. "Hey! That's not fair!"

Ezio laughed dryly. "What do you have to complain about? If you weren't hurt, the two of us would be dead within seconds!"

I smirked, "And who says you won't be now?"

Ezio laughed a cocky look on his face. He muttered something like, "Yah, right."

My foot shot out to hook behind his, and moments later he was lying back down in the dirt. "You were saying?" I smiled down at him. He muttered a few words and hauled himself to his feet. I pulled my sword out and held it ready. Ezio and Matteo held theirs up, still having had theirs out from previous duels. "You boys ready?" I smiled at them, receiving concentrated nods in response. "And go!" I said, and immediately, Ezio attacked, as I expected him to. I easy blocked the strike, and Ezio stumbled, to the side, allowing me to focus on Matteo for a few moments. I was never quite sure how he would fight, which was what made him such a good Assassin apprentice. He could never be predicted. Apparently this time he chose to go for a head on attack, throwing a dizzying sequence of attacks at me. Our swords were blurs in the air as they clanged together over and over. "You've gotten stronger," I muttered to him as I took a few steps back, forced to give ground. Matteo grinned back and began to attack even more fiercely.

Ezio tried to sneak up behind me, but as he and Matteo attacked at the same time I dove to the side. Ezio and Matteo's swords met with a loud clang and both men stumbled backwards, confused. "When you're done fighting each other, I'm still here!" I grinned, now standing a few feet away. Ezio charged toward me before he had even regained his balance. The moment he was in range, I set my sword next to his neck, his own sword rising a fraction of a second too late. "You're dead. You rushed in to an attack, and now you're partner is alone." Ezio muttered under his breath as I scolded him and then stalked off with a halfhearted nod. Matteo shrugged in response to my obvious frustration.

"Shall we continue?" he said after a moment. I nodded, completely concentrated. Matteo slowly advanced forward, and we started circling, swords inches apart. My sword darted forward, then flicked back quickly. Matteo ignored the feint and stepped forward, his sword flicking multiple directions before lightly slicing my leg. I narrowed my eyes, the pain helping me focus more, and searched for breaks in his defenses. We dueled for nearly a half hour, neither person gaining the upper hand. Sweat dripped off both of us, but neither of us willing to accept defeat. I was exhausted all of the wounds I'd gained in the last week or so aching. Matteo didn't look much better. Suddenly, he jumped forward and dug his elbow into my injured right shoulder, bringing me to my knees. I weakly swung my sword at him, but he grabbed the hilt from my hand. He set his sword against my throat and my sword against the back of my neck. "I believe that is my point," he said, giving me an exhausted smile.

I glared back at him. "That's not fair," I muttered. He raised an eyebrow in my direction but didn't say anything. He helped me to my feet and gave me back my sword obviously trying to be a gentleman.

After a minute, he nudged me and said, "Come on, stop pouting! It's not like you always lose. You've beat me like 500 times, and I've beat you around 50."

I glared at him for a moment, and then gave him a small smile. "It still wasn't fair."


	12. Chapter 12

***I don't own Assassin's Creed***

**If you are still reading this at the 12****th**** chapter, I give you a virtual cookie! I enjoy writing this, and I hope you enjoyed reading it! Please read and review!**

**Chapter 12  
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For the next few months, life went on as usual; we trained, we laughed, we kicked each other's butts. Ezio often left to get rid of a few of the people who had conspired against his family, but he always came back safely, never again letting his guard down enough to get captured again (which I was happy about). One evening in late April, Matteo, Ezio, and I had just finished racing around the city and were walking into the Auditore Villa. Ezio wandered into his uncle's office, wanting to show us the newest Codex page that he had found. "See, here on the back it says 'two pieces' and another piece mentions a 'prophet.' I wonder what it means." I picked up the small sheet of paper, so similar to the three I had delivered to Mario after my family's death upon arrival.

"I have no clue, but I'm sure you will figure it out, in time." I flipped the page over and saw writing on the back, another description of some weapon or device. "Will you take this to Leonardo to be decoded?" I asked and Ezio nodded.

"I will be leaving shortly, would you like to come?"

"Hasn't he been hired by Borgia? Is it safe to work with him?" Matteo inquired, frowning slightly.

"He would never give us away. I trust him completely. But I have heard he will be leaving soon, traveling to Venezia to set up a workshop there. Quindi, vuoi venire?" Ezio smiled at us expectantly as he spoke.

I frowned when he mentioned Venezia. "Ezio, last I heard, I am still one of the most wanted criminals in Venezia. The moment I step foot in that city I would be dead. I am sorry, friend, but I cannot go." I shrugged sadly.

Matteo nodded in agreement and said, "I am not quite as wanted as Cosima, but still a criminal. When in Venezia, I could be killed on sight."

Ezio sighed and then nodded. "I guess you're right. Although I'm not sure how long it will be before I come back. A lot of the People who conspired with the Pazzi are in Venezia, so I could be there a long time." he shrugged sadly.

"I'm sure you'll be done with them in no time," Matteo smiled, putting an arm over Ezio's shoulders. Ezio smiled back at him, slinging his own arm over Matteo's shoulders.

"I'd better start packing. Leonardo leaves for Venezia soon, and if I hope to travel with him, I need to leave tomorrow." Ezio slipped away from Matteo and me with a smile.

When Ezio was gone, Matteo and I walked out of Mario's office. Once outside, we vaulted up the side of the building, grabbing ledges and windowsills almost effortlessly. We walked over to the west facing portion of the top of the room, a favorite spot of ours and sat down. We were silent for a few minutes until Matteo cleared his throat and said, "When were you planning to tell him that we were leaving anyway? In only 3 days, we're due in Roma for the formal ceremony."

"I was hoping something like this would come up. And Mario said not to say anything, since Ezio doesn't know about most of the others." I raised my hands in a shrug of uncertainty.

Silence reigned again for a minute until Matteo lay back against the shingles, hands behind his head, and sighed. "I can't believe that finally, after our years of training, then coming here, that we are going to be full Assassins! Just imagine it! Being treated as equals to Mario, Volpe, and Machiavelli!" Matteo grinned at me, eyes wide with excitement.

I laughed, laying back to copy his pose. "I'm sure we won't be equals, but I know what you mean. Traveling to exotic places, keeping the peace, it's all so exciting!" I sighed happily and scooted closed to Matteo so that my head rested lightly on his right shoulder. We gazed at the beautiful reds and oranges of the sunset, grinning contentedly. Slowly, my eyelids grew heavier and heavier until, as the first brilliant stars twinkled in the night sky, I drifted to sleep.

I woke up the next morning when Matteo gently shook my shoulder, murmuring, "Wake up, Cosima. It's morning."

I moaned, not wanting to wake up quite yet, but knowing I had to. Sitting up, I glanced around at my surroundings, confused until I remembered climbing onto the roof with Matteo. We quickly climbed down from the roof and headed into the main hall of the Villa. Ezio was waiting inside, leaning against a pillar. "Where have you two been?" he smirked, a knowing gleam in his eyes.

"Trying to escape your snoring," I retorted with a matching smirk.

He shrugged and held up his hands in mock defeat. "If you say so..." he muttered with a grin.

I rolled my eyes and muttered, "Don't you have a genius to catch up with?"

"I can't spend a last morning with my friends? After all, it might be a long time before I'm back."

I thought for a second, and then nodded. "I guess we could spare a morning." Ezio grinned and the three of us headed to get some breakfast. We wolfed it down, and then headed off to free-run across the town, laughing and joking like young children until Ezio noticed that the sun was quickly traveling toward the middle of the sky. We headed back to the villa and found Mario waiting, a horse ready with Ezio's small pack of food and extra weapons.

Before he could hop on his horse, I grabbed my sword hilt and pulled out my weapon, presenting it to Ezio. "If you are going to at least partially blend in in Venezia, you need a Venetian sword. Guards will spot a foreigner a mile away, right down to the weapon." I said and Ezio took the sword, gently fingering the intricate gold designs. "I want you to have this. It was my father's blade, and I hope it serves you well."

"She is right, Nipote. I suggest dyeing your cloaks a darker color, like Matteo here." Mario gestured to Matteo's usual black robes.

Ezio smiled at us as he hopped on his horse. "I will remember what you said and make you proud! Don't get yourself killed while I'm gone, though!" I laughed and slapped his horse's flank, making it take off, startled.

"We could say the same to you!" Matteo called after him.

Mario, Matteo, and I stood there until Ezio disappeared into the winding roads of the city. "Do you think he's ready?" I asked Mario quietly.

"He must be, and we have taught him all that we can. It's Antonio and Theodora's turn." Mario murmured, equally quiet. After a moment, he revised his statement, saying, "No, I know he is ready for the next part of his journey. And you are also ready for the next part of your journey." Mario set one hand on my shoulder and the other on Matteo's shoulder. "Are you two ready to go to Roma?"

Matteo smiled eagerly and nodded. I smiled, and said, "let me grab my other sword, and I will be ready." Mario nodded and I ran up to the wall, crawling through my open window. I hurried over to a chest sitting at the base of my bed, carefully opening it. Everything that I had been able to get out of my family's old home was contained in this chest, including a few swords that I had collected from a hidden cabinet in my parent's room. I selected a simple but elegant blade that had been my brother's and slid it into my scabbard. Grabbing up a few extra throwing knives off of my dresser, I slipped out my window feet first, landing in a conveniently placed bale of hay. I climbed out of the bale, glaring angrily at the pieces of hay that were now poking into my outfit at odd angles.

"Are you quite ready?" Matteo called after I brushed had away most of the annoying pieces of hay. I was surprised to see that Mario wasn't present, and then figured he would be waiting at the gate.

"Yes, just getting the horse food off of me so they don't try eating me again!" Matteo grinned at the memory of a mission that had almost gone bad because a horse had thought that I was its personal feeding troth.

"The horses are ready at the gate, and Mario will be waiting for us there."

"Then what are we waiting for?" I laughed and the two of us took off, running down the stairs and swarming up the font of the nearest building. We leapt easily over the gaps between buildings, making our way to the wall surrounding the city in record time. We dropped to the ground just inside the gate and casually blended into the small groups leaving the city out of habit. When we spotted Mario sitting atop a large black horse with two other horses tethered nearby, we peeled off from the group we'd been in and walked over to him.

"There are your horses," Mario said, gesturing to the two that were tethered nearby.

Matteo and I headed towards the hoses, a bay mare and a white mare. I swung myself up onto the saddle after untying the tether and gently led the mare towards Mario. Matteo joined us a moment later, and without a word, we rode off in the direction of Roma.

**Translations:**

**Quindi, vuoi venire?- So, will you come?**

**Nipote- Nephew**


	13. Chapter 13

**Welcome to chapter 13! Let's all hope and pray that it isn't unlucky! We I'm glad you've all read it thus far, and I thank you so much! Read and enjoy! Please review!**

_**Tiili97**_**- If you are reading this, I just wanted to let you know that your review had me literally jumping up and down with joy! I feel the same way about the other fanfics, and I'm glad someone agrees, and likes my fanfics so much.**

**Chapter 13**

the trip to Roma was fairly uneventful. Meaning we were only attacked a handful of times and for once, I wasn't hurt (shocker, I know). We arrived late in the afternoon, leaving the horses at a small stable on the outskirts of the town. We slipped unobtrusively between small groups as we moved through the city, looking for Machiavelli or La Volpe, or some other familiar face. Outwardly, we were relaxed, but we were inwardly tense, ready for almost everything.

As we were walking down a street on Tiber Island, I heard a familiar voice in an alley by the street. I glanced over at Matteo and found him looking just as surprised as I felt. "Is that...?" I murmured. Not waiting for a reply, I slipped away from Mario and Matteo and casually walked into the alley. "Hello? Is anyone there?" I whispered, and immediately a hand clamped over my mouth and I felt someone press close to me from behind.

A deep voice hissed in my ear, "Girls like you should not be allowed to wander around. Men like me might come along." the man was obviously trying to intimidate me, but it failed miserably.

Moments later, the hooded and cloaked man was lying on his back on the cobblestones in front of me, moaning softly. "And men like you should pick your targets more carefully. Next time, you may not be so lucky." I muttered, my voice filled with something close to contempt. The man scrambled to his feet, glaring daggers at me from under the hood of his dark clothes. I glared back, but after a few seconds, I couldn't keep the idiotic grin that had been threatening to come out hidden any longer. Pushing my hood back, I exclaimed, "Adriano, it is good to see you. It's been far too long!"

The man copied my movements with his own hood, revealing a handsome face with sandy blonde hair and grey-blue eyes. My brother's grin swiftly morphed into a matching grin as he replied, "it has, but it seems the years have treated you well. Back in Venezia you never could have thrown me!"

"you'd like to think that, wouldn't you!" I laughed at his disbelieving smirk. "Come. I am sure you did not just find me so that you could see that I am finally a better Assassin, and I know a couple people who would like to see you."

"Si, but I already knew that I was better, since I am a Master and you are only an apprentice. Now, down to business. La Volpe sent me to escort you three to our hideout, so let's go see Matteo and..." Adriano paused and looked up, as if trying to read something straight off of his brain. "Mario, right?"

"Si, Mario, Ezio Auditore's uncle."

"Ah, yes. The infamous Ezio. I heard he was headed to Venezia."

"Yes, he goes get rid of some important Templars, which is fine with me. He wanted Matteo and me to come, but, of course, we couldn't, for multiple reasons." I said, and Adriano nodded in agreement. Adriano set an arm over my shoulders and the two of us walked out of the dark alley. Most people didn't give us a second glance. It was Roma, after all, and the Assassins were everywhere.

"I could understand why. Now, where are your friends? Surely they would not have strayed far."

"Right there," I gestured to a bench a few feet away where Mario and Matteo sat, seemingly oblivious to the world around them.

As we approached, Matteo stood up, grinning at me. "There you are! We were worried that you had gotten hurt. Again."

I glared at him. I glanced over and saw Antonio hiding a smile. "You're loving this, aren't you?" I muttered to no one in particular.

"So very much," Matteo laughed back.

"You know, I seem to remember a time when you never spoke. I miss that time." I glared at him and Matteo grinned at me.

"I learned a lot from you, mi amico." I glared at him. I reached over to my side, clenching the hilt of my sword threateningly.

Mario noticed the movement and jumped to his feet, setting a hand on Matteo's shoulder. "Matteo, do you really want to end up dead?" Mario gestures to my hand which was still gripping my sword. Matteo glanced at my sword, then at my eyes, no doubt trying to figure out if I was serious. His gaze was met with a glare, but I let a hint of a smile shine in my eyes, showing that I would never hurt him too badly. But I would still hurt him.

Matteo unconsciously backed away a step of two. "Mi dispiace, signora." Matteo grinned with a small, very sarcastic bow.

I glared at him for a moment before letting my hand fall from the hilt of my sword. "Now that Matteo is done being rude," Matteo smirked in reply, but I ignored him and continued speaking, "Mario, it is my pleasure to finally introduce you to my brother, Adriano."

Mario nodded politely and smiled. "I see the resemblance. You both look so much like your father."

Antonio smiled sadly. "Grazie, Signore Mario." Adriano glanced down the street and noticed a small group of guards making their way towards us. "Come, friends. Some guards are approaching, and I have strict orders from La Volpe that you make it to headquarters alive."

"He gave you hard job." Matteo joked, "Cosima just loves near-death exp- OOF!" Matteo doubled as I jabbed him hard in the gut with my elbow.

"Ignore them, eventually they'll shut up. Now, Adriano, lead the way." Mario remarked and my brother nodded seriously, showing his hood up to shadow his face. He glanced at the guards, then at the surrounding buildings. Without even a warning tensing of his muscles, he vaulted forward and swiftly scaled the building behind the bench Mario and Matteo had been sitting on. A moment later, Matteo and I followed him, not bothering to focus on the task, instead letting instinct lead us. We pulled ourselves onto the roof and walked over to stand next to Adriano. A few moments later, Mario climbed over the edge of the roof and joined us.

"It is this way," Adriano hardly paused to say these words before running toward a cable stretched between the building we were standing on and the next building. We followed him quickly, not wanting lose sight of our guide. Adriano ran across the cable and onto the next rooftop. He did not pause, only glanced behind to see if we were following. The three of us dashed after him, taking leaps across gaps and climbing higher and higher with each passing minute. Roof tiles crunched lightly beneath our feet as we breezed across the rooftops. Adriano finally slowed as he approached an elevated section of roof set us against a tower. In the middle of the flat, untiled roof was a large circular hole. Upon closer inspection I saw that it was actually a circular staircase leading down into the darkness of the building.

"Isn't a bit obvious?" I asked Adriano, gesturing to the stairs.

As he started to descend, followed by me, then Matteo, and finally, Mario, Adriano answered with a grin, "If you weren't either an Assassin or a guard, would you be up here?" I smiled at his response and shrugged. "Exactly. And the stairs are made backwards_*****_so that any Assassins inside in a Templar attack could fight back from below without exposing themselves. And only a hidden blade can open the doors to the inside. We know what we're doing, little sister." Adriano stopped descending the rough stone steps after around two flights and stopped on one of the small landings with a thick wooden door fitted into the wall. It didn't seem to have a handle or lock hole to open with. Adriano grinned at me, and then flicked his wrist, making his hidden blade slide silently out of its hiding place. He pushed it into a small hole to the right of the door and turned the blade sideways. I heard an almost inaudible click, and the door slid into the wall, revealing a room made of grayish- white stone and with red banners on the walls bearing the Assassin symbol. "Welcome, apprentices, to the Assassins headquarters of Roma!"

_*** Note: normal spiral staircases spiral to the left so that people defending from the top of towers could fight without exposing themselves, but attackers had to show their whole self. The Assassin's staircase is backwards so they can fight up without showing themselves and attackers going down couldn't. (Did that make sense? Comment if it didn't and I'll try to explain it to you better)**_


	14. Chapter 14

_***I don't own Assassin's creed***_

_**PLEASE READ**__** So, after this chapter, I want you to comment with an answer to this question for furture reference: **__**Would you rather see (in this story) a person hurt and then a fight starting, or a fight starting, then the person hurt, or other (there will be a fight and person hurt {not giving details}, but I'm open to ideas about how it happens)**__** o.k., now you can carry on with your reading :)**_

Chapter 14

Matteo and I grinned at each other, childlike excitement obvious. We walked into the room, trying to take everything in at once. I had been around Assassins nearly all my life, but had never truly been to an Assassin hideout. Behind me, I heard Mario and Adriano laughing, Adriano quietly, Mario... not as quietly. "Look at them! They look as if they've never seen the Assassin symbol before!" Mario whisper-shouted (more shout than whisper, though).

"You've got no place to talk! I heard you were stumbling around in shock like an idiota ubriaco!" Adriano retorted.

"I... Vanni was worse though!" Mario chuckled quietly.

"I can't argue with that," Adriano snickered.

"You know, we can hear you, right?" I muttered, turning to the two men. Matteo snickered quietly, but I was surprised to hear another, deeper laugh along with his.

"Si, they know, or should know. Show some manners, Adriano!" La Volpe walked into the room, grinning from under the cowl of his cloak.

"My apologies, bella donna, I did not mean to insult you in any way!" my brother bowed dramatically towards me, his face full of mock horror.

I smirked at the theatrics, but went along with it, "My dear brother, I could not in any way take words from such a gentiluomo as an insult!" The two of us grinned, and I heard La Volpe laughing again.

"Ah, Adriano, there are your manners! I thought you'd lost them on one of your... adventures." He glared at my brother, and I chuckled softly.

"You men are all alike."All four of the other assassins in the room glared at me, but I ignored them cheerfully. "Anyway, it's nice to see you Volpe. It has been a while."

"Si, it has..." La Volpe grinned and I knew he was thinking of how I had been hurt last time he'd seen me. As usual. "Now, down to business. Almost all of the other Assassins are here, except for a few of the apprentices who should be arriving shortly. It always encourages them to see others reaching their goals."

La Volpe gestured to the hallway that he had appeared from, and Matteo and I calmly walked in, immediately recognizing Paola, Machiavelli, Bartolomeo and a few others. They grinned at us, and I was filled with pride at being part of this close-knit group of people. The room was fairly large, about 25 ft. by 40 ft., with more banners with the Assassin symbol hanging on the walls. At the front of the room was a slightly raised stone platform proudly bearing a brazier with a pair of metal tongs sitting next to it.

Mario walked down the middle of the room and onto the platform. As he opened his mouth to speak, three apprentices dashed into the room and quietly went to stand next to the other apprentices on the right side of the room. Mario waited a moment, and then began to speak. "Welcome, brothers and sisters. We gather here today to grant two apprentices their rite of passage to become full Assassins. Cosima, Matteo, please come forward." Matteo and I walked up to the stand on the platform, passing the wide eyed stares and grins of excited apprentices and the calm smiles and relaxed poses of the Master Assassins. Standing in front of all of the eyes staring intently at us, I resisted the urge to shrink into the shadows caused by the flickering torchlight. "Laa shay'a waqi'un moutlaq bale kouloun moumkine. These are the words that define our Creed. Where other men blindly follow the truth, remember..."

"Nothing is true." Matteo and I replied confidently.

"Where other men are limited by morality or law, remember..."

"Everything is permitted."

Every Assassin in the room joined in for the last part of the time honored words spoken in every new Assassin's initiation: "We work in the dark to serve the light. We are Assassins. Nothing is true, everything is permitted."

Machiavelli strode out of the now silent spectators. He picked up the tongs and placed the ends in the fire, expertly heating it so that the ends were glowing bright red and orange within seconds. "Cosima, you first," he murmured, and I held up my left hand. Machiavelli held out the tongs, hovering the ends over and below my ring finger for a moment before squeezing them onto my skin. I gritted my teeth at the sudden burning feeling, unable to stop a small gasp from escaping. Both Mario and Machiavelli watched my face carefully, searching for weakness, but finding none. Machiavelli pulled the tongues away, thrusting them back into the fire to reheat them, and I stepped to the side, making room for Matteo to step closer to the brazier. Matteo glanced apprehensively at the tongs for a moment, but then confidence filled his features. He held up his hand, and Machiavelli clamped the tongs onto his finger. Matteo's body went ridged, and then slowly relaxed as Matteo took a shaky but determined breath. The tongs were removed from his finger and he stepped backwards so that he was next to me.

Mario stepped to the edge of the platform and announced, "Apprentices, you are dismissed. Masters, please accompany us to the tower for the final part if the ceremony." The apprentices filed out of the room, leaving only Machiavelli, Mario, Adriano, Paola, Bartolomeo, Matteo, and I.

"Come, the ladder is here." Machiavelli led us over to a ladder in the corner of the room, and then gestured for us to climb it. I nodded my thanks to him, and then began climbing into the pitch black above. The climb felt like it would never end, but soon, a soft glow appeared at the top of the tunnel. The light grew steadily until it became blinding and was all around. Reaching upwards, my hand felt the edge of the top of the hole. I hoisted myself out, and then leaned against one of the pillars above, waiting for the others to appear. It didn't take long for the other six to come out, one after another, and we were soon ready for the last part of the ceremony, the Leap of Faith. I stepped out onto the small platform and glanced down to make sure a bale of hay was waiting below. A moment after I was sure there was, I leapt off, legs together, arms out and spun in the air. The jump was exhilarating, and even though it lasted only a few moments, I felt as if I could fly. I landed gently in the hay, quickly scrambling out so that I didn't get landed on. A few seconds later, someone landed in the bale, then hopped out.

"We've done it, Cosima! We are Assassins!" Matteo ginned at me, and I smiled back. Glancing up, I saw my brother step onto the platform to jump, and decided to wait for him, instead of heading straight back into the headquarters. The first hint that any of us had that we were being watched was a loud BANG! And my brother falling from the sky.

**idiota ubriaco- drunken idiot**

**bella donna- beautiful lady**

**gentiluomo- gentleman**

_**Please comment to answer my question at the top /\**_

_**P.S. i won't update until I get three responces :) Please? All i want for christmas are reviews! :)**_


	15. Chapter 15

I am sad to inform you that due to person reasons, I am forced to discontinue this story. I apologize profusely to my dedicated readers, but it could not be helped.


	16. Restart?

I know it has been over a year and a half since I discontinued this story, and I am sincerely sorry. Upon recently becoming re-interested in Assassin's Creed, I have decided that, if people will want to read this story, I will continue it. Please message me or review if you want me to continue.


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